BRIC sign food security declaration in Moscow - India News and Travel Times Provides India-centric and other News and Features

The Agriculture Ministers of Brazil, Russia, India and China (BRIC) on Friday signed a global food security declaration in Moscow. The declaration was signed by Brazil Agrarian Development Minister Guilherme Cassel, Russian Agriculture Minister Elena Skrynnik, Indian Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar and Chinese Agriculture Minister Han Changfu. The joint ministerial statement of BRIC countries said that they considered the issue of global food security and resolved to address the problem of food production and hunger without delay in a comprehensive manner through resolute action by governments and relevant international agencies. The statement further said that they agreed on broad contours of quadrilateral cooperation in the agricultural sector with particular attention to family farming, the development of which will not only help long-term interests of the four states, but contribute towards global food security. "Reiterating our support to the initiatives taken at international level such as World Food Summit in Rome, we intend to develop effective and comprehensive measures for development of agriculture in BRIC countries through close cooperation and coordination in the field of agriculture and allied activities," the joint ministerial statement said. The ministers also believed that there is a need for more intensive cooperation among BRIC countries through the exchange of experience, coordinated action and implementation of joint projects wherever possible and in the interest of the four countries. "The first meeting of the BRIC Agriculture Ministers held today to deliberate upon the important issues of global food security and hunger has made good progress; we have successfully adopted a Declaration outlining the contours of mutual cooperation on the way forward," Union Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar said.